New Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver plans to move star corner Jalen Ramsey around more in 2024.
Under Vic Fangio, Ramsey played primarily on the right side -- 87.6% of his snaps in 10 games during the regular season, per Next Gen Stats. The corner blanketed that side of the field, with opponents attempting just 84 passes to the right after Ramsey returned in Week 8, the second-fewest in the NFL, according to NGS.
However, Weaver noted Thursday that playing Ramsey on one side of the formation doesn’t utilize the star to his full capability.
“You talk about prototype corners, he is that,” Weaver said, via the team’s official transcript. “Size, length, speed, competitiveness. The thing about him is I think he is your ultimate chess piece. So to have him just sit outside and be a field corner or boundary corner or something like that is a detriment to him. We got to find ways to move him around where he can be most impactful. We’re committed to doing that.”
Last season, Ramsey aligned at outside corner on 533 snaps, in the slot just 14 snaps, free safety twice and in the box 35 times, per PFF. It’s the least he’s moved around in his entire career.
The lack of slot snaps was particularly low for Ramsey. He spent just 2% of his reps in the slot in 2023, compared to 19.8 in 2022 and 31.3 in 2021 in Los Angeles. Given Ramsey’s tackling ability from the corner position, getting him into the slot more takes advantage of the physical aspect of his game.
Moving Ramsey around in 2024 benefits the Dolphins from a schematic perspective but will make life more difficult on quarterbacks, who must identify where the playmaking corner is before each snap.